While most people believe that it is not possible to consistently time the market, there are several plans that allow investors to time purchases and sales of securities. These are referred to as formula plans—mechanical methods of managing a portfolio that attempt to take advantage of cyclical price movements. The objective is to mitigate the level of risk facing the investor. One such formula plan is dollar-cost averaging. Here, a fixed dollar amount is invested in a security at fixed intervals. One objective is to increase the value of the given security over time. If prices decline, more shares are purchased; when market prices increase, fewer shares are purchased per period. The essence is that an investor is more likely not to buy overvalued securities. Over the past 12 months, March 2019 through February 2020, Mrs. Paddock has used the dollar-cost averaging formula to purchase $1,000 worth of Neo common stock each month. The monthly price per share paid over the 12-month period is given in the following table. Assume that Mrs. Paddock paid no brokerage commissions on these transactions.